Washington, D.C. — This week, the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board criticized Democrats for their “assault” on the cost of Biogen’s new Alzeheimer’s drug, Aduhelm. This comes after Biogen announced they would be charging $56,000 for a year’s worth of treatment — almost twice the median income of a Medicare beneficiary — for a drug experts say may not even work. Even the Alzheimer’s Association called the price of Aduhelm “simply unacceptable” and warned “this price will pose an insurmountable barrier to access, it complicates and jeopardizes sustainable access to this treatment, and may further deepen issues of health equity.” In response, Protect Our Care Chair Leslie Dach issued the following statement:
“Everyone who has known someone with Alzheimer’s knows that this is a horrible, devastating disease. Biogen is feeding on the hopes of millions of Alzheimer’s patients and their families and taking advantage of a broken system that allows drugmakers to set outrageous prices without any limitations. You don’t help people with Alzheimer’s with a drug no one can afford. There is no one more committed to fighting for older Americans and no one who has fought harder to ensure Americans can afford their medications than Senate Finance Chairman Senator Ron Wyden. It’s plain and simple: the Wall Street Journal has repurposed PhRMA talking points while Democrats and Chairman Wyden are committed to ensuring Alzheimer’s patients can afford the treatments they need.”